The Doctor and the Dreamer
by lookingglasswolf
Summary: It has been 3 years since Ichigo Kurosaki has lost his shinigami powers. Now that he has finally had so much time to start thinking about his career and what he wants to do in life, he decides to try and start a rock band. But what happens when his band ends up being the one to create a paradox in time? (A Bleach/DW/Eyeshine Crossover)
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Set 3 years after Ichigo had lost his Shinigami powers. He has not run into any supernatural activity ever since, and he has now been attending college and playing music with a few friends.  
_

* * *

Ichigo slowly ran his fingers over the edge of a bright blue Gibson SG, its spotless shine catching his reflection as if he were looking into the surface of a cool, sparkling ocean. Though he had never had much of an interest in actually playing these types of guitars, it was the beautiful paintwork that had caught his attention, like so many others inside of the store.

He had not really planned on spending his Friday evening looking around inside of a high-class music shop.

In fact, he would much rather have run straight to the garage after class where he could play his own guitar. Being able to feel the heavy vibrations of electric notes singing through his fingers, the booming bass and the tenacious drum beats pounding inside of his heart, drawing out an amazing feeling that he never knew existed before. A feeling that feverishly traveled up through his throat and made him want to shout out words, words that could reach out and connect with everyone on the entire planet.

As soon as he found himself standing there daydreaming, a firm hand had reached around and grabbed onto his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Dream on, man!" called Kazuki with a playful grin on his face, apparently assuming that Ichigo's heart was set on buying the Gibson he had still been staring at for the past few seconds.

"Um…I wasn't really interested in getting it."

"I didn't think so. That thing is vintage! We got a ways to go before we end up having our own private mansion full of Gibsons."

Kazuki Kimura. A cool, easy-going college student with a handsome figure and an incredibly kind personality. Music had become one of his biggest passions when he had turned about 15 years old, shortly after the passing of his mother. This was one of the things that lead to him having such a tight connection with Ichigo when they had first met. They just had a very strange and unexplainable way of understanding one another. Something that would in the end, lead to Kazuki becoming Ichigo's lead guitarist.

And now here they were. Venturing through endless rows of instruments that neither of them could ever begin to afford. After Kazuki had so cleverly remarked to Ichigo about the Gibson SG.

"Hey guys, check it out!" came a voice from across the room, belonging to the one and only female in their group, Yoko Tanaka. She was sitting atop one of the amplifiers and strumming on a banjo like some sort of classic hill billy.

This was nothing out of the ordinary for Yoko. She was the band's ball of energy, a goofy little weirdo who usually came with a different color of hair every day and was practically in love with all sorts of sweets. She was an extremely creative person with a surprisingly good knack for origami, sketching, and playing the bass.

As a look of embarrassed resentment fell upon Ichigo's face, Kazuki chuckled and grabbed up a tambourine from one of the nearby racks, striking it in time with Yoko's ridiculous banjo playing.

And sure enough to follow, came the beat of a drum set being struck by their all too much of a clown-ish drummer, Takuma Koizumi. Ichigo himself was not even sure how such a trouble-making airhead had come to take any kind of liking into playing serious music. But it was apparent that Takuma always had fun drumming with the band and he was decent, just as long as he stayed focused.

Watching them all together like this, Ichigo couldn't help but facepalm and hope to God that no one in the store associated him with them.

"Ichigo! Come on! Join us!" shouted Kazuki.

Ichigo casually turned around and walked out of the exit.

And with that, the three hastily dropped their instruments and ran out after him.

It was a chilly November outside and small snowflakes were beginning to drift down from the sky. But even this cold weather had never once stopped them from having band practice like today. It was something that each of them individually anticipated at the end of every week. Something that brought forth so much excitement even though there was no way of really knowing where it would lead.

_And I'm the front man..._

That alone, Ichigo would never have been able to imagine before now even if he tried.

Sure, his father had bought him a guitar but that was years ago and most of the time he would forget the thing was even there. He was too busy with school and getting lost inside of the world of being a Shinigami for so long. The hardest part of all about losing his powers, was losing the special ability to be able to protect everyone.

Maybe the reason that playing music came so natural to him, was because it was another way of doing just that; protecting and inspiring the hearts of other people.

_Only this time, my guitar is like my zanpakuto._

Smiling to himself over that cliché, Ichigo hurried ahead of the group to lead them into his garage.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_End of the first chapter. If this story gets enough hits so far, and enough people interested in what happens next, I will continue to post more chapters. I realize it is a bit of a different approach for a Bleach/DW Crossover and I was curious of what the fans of both shows might think, as well as anybody appreciative of music ._

_Including a very brief profile description for Kazuki, Yoko, and Takuma since they are my original characters._

_**KAZUKI KIMURA **_**[Lead Guitarist]**  
_Age: 21  
Sign: Capricorn  
Hair: Short/Black  
Eye Color: Dark Grey  
Height: 5'8"  
_  
_**YOKO TANAKA **_**[Bassist]**  
_Age: 18  
Sign: Aries  
Hair: Short/Black with Hot Pink Stripes (she tends to dye it often)  
Eye Color: Light Pink  
Height: 5'2"_

**TAKUMA KOIZUMI [Drummer]  
**_Age: 20  
Sign: Saggitarius  
Hair: Shoulder Length/Blonde  
Eye Color: Sky Blue  
Height: 5'9"_


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Thank you very much for the small feedback! I hope you guys will enjoy this story's overall twist! It is not as simple as you think and I am hoping that it might totally take you by surprise, but in the meantime you will have to be a little bit patient if you want to see what it is! ;) Enjoy.  
_

* * *

As the four came hustling up to Ichigo's house and ducking in underneath the garage door, each of them began to split up around the room and start setting up their instruments; Kazuki slinging his guitar strap over his shoulder and twisting away at the tuning keys to make sure that they were all in check, Yoko adjusting the knobs on her amplifier to find a satisfactory sound that would blend in well with the others, and both Takuma and Ichigo discussing what sort of pace their music was going to be taking that night.

Ichigo's younger sisters, Yuzu and Karin, came scrambling into the room as soon as they had heard everyone.

"Are you gonna play some more of that one song?!" called Yuzu.

"Yeah that one you started to play before you all had to split last week. It sounded totally wicked," remarked Karin as she took a seat next to Yuzu in the back.

"Ichigo said he's been working on some lyrics for that one," replied Kazuki, turning his head to the two girls with a small smile. "It should be about ready, right man?"

"Yeah I've got the whole thing figured out," Ichigo replied.

"That was fast," said Yoko as she looked up at him from her bass. "When we all started doing this, you told us that you only just recently started taking up the guitar again. No experience with writing lyrics, tablature, or anything more than just the basics of how to play. But the way you function in the band, it's like you're some kinda pro who's been balancing all of that together for years."

"That's because he totally lied about it in order to impress us," sneered Takuma.

"Or because he was born with the musical talent of a genius," assured Kazuki with more than a hint of charm and admiration beaming in his voice.

"Get a room!" Takuma called back as Yoko chuckled along with Ichigo's sisters.

"Okay guys, let's start by taking that song from the top. Just play everything the way you were before and follow my lead," Ichigo announced as he made one more final adjustment to his microphone stand.

Everyone automatically quieted down and took their positions, Takuma being the one to strike his drum sticks together on the usual four-count-signal to begin playing.

And then right at that moment Ichigo's electric guitar chords echoed through the garage, a powerful and intimidating sound full of edge, which gripped the attention of everyone in the room. Ichigo's pick glided over the strings swiftly and naturally, the fingers on his left hand catching frets without a hint of uncertainty or fear of making any mistakes.

After a few more seconds of his intro into the song, the rest of the band began to join in and obediently follow lead, keeping that same heavy and fast-paced edge inside of their playing that Ichigo had introduced from the start.

Yuzu's eyes lit up with a beam of excitement just as they always had when she had watched her brother playing music with the band. It was a surreal sight that shot such thrill and admiration inside of her. There was something about the sound all four of the musicians in that garage were capable of making. Something very unique about it that screamed so much passion and honesty, and what excited Yuzu most of all, was the fact that she could so easily imagine this music coming out of a radio, or the TV speakers in the living room when there had been a music channel on.

Try as she might to playfully deny it at times, Karin could not help but feel just as amazed and taken aback whenever Ichigo and his band performed. No matter how lame she knew it was, she couldn't stop the small smile from curving upon her face as she watched her brother now and thought to herself, 'Man, he's awesome…'

And then just as Ichigo's head closed in on the microphone, there came another element of the same passion-filled energy: his singing.

It had taken him a while to become this comfortable with it, but his voice was unlike any other. It was slightly high-pitched, soft, but also strong and packed with an incredible amount of emotion. Just as his guitar playing had been. It was a voice that could carry through the air and stand out to make you listen, almost a strangely enchanting thing.

He was singing about the past again tonight. About the haunting day he had to give up his world of being a shinigami and about leaving behind majority of the people he had met along the way, most of all, Rukia. She was someone who had appeared more frequently than anyone else in his songs, because she was one of the most incredible friends he ever had the opportunity of knowing. After all of the adventures and near-death experiences they had gone through together in the life he had finally come to let go, it made it very hard not to let out these feelings and memories whenever he wrote.

But he found that it was one of the best ways to deal with them and learn how to begin moving on.

As Ichigo's two sisters sat with their eyes fixed on the band, heads bobbing and feet bouncing in time with the music, it hadn't been longer than a few minutes before a couple of more older and familiar faces peered in underneath the garage door .

Orihime Inoue and Keigo Asano.

They had both come bundled up for the winter weather and they looked extremely eager to say something, and right as Ichigo and the band had started to stop playing in order to figure out what was going on, Orihime's voice had burst out loud and clear.

"You've been invited to open for one of the unsigned bands in Shibuya!"


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_-knock knock- I'M BACK. Sorry for the long wait on Chapter 3, guys! A lot of things have been keeping me busy over the past couple of months, one of those things actually being that I have been trying to organize weekly practice and create orginal songs with my REAL band lately lol. BUT-Nevertheless, about to have more time to write now! :)_

_Hope you'll enjoy this chapter! xoxo  
_

* * *

All at once the room had fallen silent, the eyes of everyone in it now being focused on Orihime in a moment of shock and disbelief at the news which she had just given them.

"...What?" Ichigo asked, after blinking for a few seconds, and sounding about as dumbstruck as he looked.

Orihime's grin immediately grew wider and she rushed over to him with a folded up slip of paper in her hands, letting him open it up and begin reading over the print for himself.

_Dear Ichigo,_

_We have seen a few of your band's performances and we are very impressed! If you are interested, we would love to have you open for us at Shibuya O-West on Saturday night, November 30th 5:00pm. Meet us there early and let us know as soon as possible - the name of your group!_

_Sincerely,_  
_Riku xxx L&M (Love & Monsters)_

"They're a really cool rock band called Love and Monsters! Tatsuki's been sending them some recordings of you playing and-"

"Hold it, Tatsuki's been passing around our music to other bands?" Kazuki interrupted her, looking over Ichigo's shoulder and down at the letter of invitation, Yoko and Takuma appearing at his opposite side as well.

Orihime giggled softly and rubbed at the back of her neck with a soft blush.

"Well...She's a big fan of them and since they've always answered her E-mails, she thought she'd start sending them videos of your performances on her phone! I know she kind of did it without asking for permission but...isn't this great?!"

Keigo automatically darted directly up to Ichigo with a squeal of excitement and began twirling him around in circles by the hands. "THIS IS SO AWESOME! MY BEST FRIEND IS GONNA BE ONE WHOLE STEP CLOSER TO BEING A ROCK STAR!"

Ichigo pulled his hands free and grabbed Keigo by the shoulders in order to stop his ridiculous spinning frenzy, looking back over to Orihime.

"Just a few video recordings on her phone? How can they possibly think we're that good? I mean I know it's an unsigned band but, still...actually performing like that on our own stage? In front of a bunch of people who've never even heard of us before..?"

"They wanna give you better recognition as a hot new band!" Keigo called back at Ichigo, playfully jabbing him in the side. "Come on man! Don't worry about it! You'll do amazing just like you've been doing without the fancier crowds!"

"He's right!" Orihime cheered.

"...I am totally game for this if you guys are," said Yoko.

"Hell yeah, me too!" grinned Takuma.

"What do you say, Ichigo?" asked Kazuki next, all eyes now shifted back on the front man of the group in anticipation for his final decision.

And after a long moment's pause...

"...We're gonna need a lot of practice."

* * *

It had been about two solid weeks of hard work now since Ichigo and his band had received this astounding piece of good news from his friends, Orihime and Keigo. He had been getting everyone together for preparation of their set nearly every single evening after classes for at least three hours at a time, keeping himself as busy as possible with writing more lyrics, practicing his overall vocal range, and getting the group to sound in sync together. Even though he still couldn't believe that they were worthy or experienced enough as a band to play live in front of a bigger audience than usual, he couldn't help but feel a burning sense of excitement during the entire time that they had left before they were to open up on stage for Love and Monsters.

"Tomorrow night's the night you're gonna blow everybody away!" called Tatsuki after sitting in on what would be their final chance to practice together before the gig.

"Well, hopefully," said Ichigo.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Ichigo," Tatsuki remarked back, standing up again to ruffle his hair. "It's like you don't know just how amazing you guys sound together! You could literally put people into a trance..."

Takuma and Kazuki laughed.

"We're gonna meet at the train station tomorrow at three right?" asked Yoko.

"Right," said Ichigo. "They'll already have all of the equipment we need to get set up so we won't have to worry about bringing any of our instruments. But we might wanna think about spending the night at a hotel if we plan on sticking around for the rest of the show."

"I'm still bringing my Kramer!" said Kazuki, clutching his guitar as if it were his own newborn child.

"OH! Can we check out some of the shops they have?! I just remembered too-they've got that famous dog statue of Hachiko over there!" Yoko beamed excitedly.

"'Cause I'm sure we're all in a big hurry to see a statue of a dog," remarked Takuma.

"..Guys, I think we kinda need to keep our heads on the performance right now," said Ichigo, to which everyone at once gave a rather guilty, quiet sign of agreement as they started packing up their instruments for the night.

"Hey, by the way Ichigo," laughed Kazuki nervously as he made his way over with a hand cupped around his mouth in a lower tone of voice, "Have you figured out the name that you're going to be introducing us as up there yet?"

"...Yeah. Sort of..."

"...Sort of?!"

"You'll see."

Kazuki squinted his eyes at him for a moment, and then strutted away to place his guitar back inside of its case.

When they had each gotten their things together, Ichigo pressed the button on his remote to open up the garage door for them all and wave them off on their way back out.

"Catch you tomorrow!" Yoko shouted as Kazuki and Takuma gave Ichigo a high five, the three of them racing out into the dimly lit road with the biggest grins on their faces.

"See ya!" Ichigo shouted back with a smile, leaning against the side of the wall and gazing up into the night sky with his hands in his pockets.

It seemed as if life had really tossed them a great opportunity from out of the blue. There was all in all, no telling where this new experience would end up leading them as musicians, and the chance of things not blowing over as each of them had hoped was of course always a possibility. But somehow, Ichigo couldn't help but have a very, very good feeling about this show.

Little did he know just how much more of an unbelievably bizarre turn of events was waiting ahead.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_Cheers, a "Love and Monsters" episode title reference, if you caught it! Thought that might actually make for a pretty cool band name a few days ago!_

_I think that there was someone who mentioned that this special invitation might have come from the Doctor himself, which is a clever assumption! But nevertheless it is still much too soon for me to introduce him into the story just yet ;) Don't worry. You'll be seeing 10 before long._

_So much love to those of you who have followed and favorited this story so far! I hope that you're having fun reading! :)_


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